"Here are the steps and I will go into them in detail in the video.1) Write down what you want, not just goal setting- What do you WANT?2) Clarify what you want over a period of days.3) Continue to clarify over a period of days until them start to expand and arrange themselves in proper order and are excited about the possibility.4) Get entire family involved and then share with company, team, and those back at the office that can effect the outcome."

Steve Blank, the father of the "lean startup" movement, has a superuseful startup tools page available on his site since 2009. The page is a unique curated and organized collection of useful tools and services that can be extremely helpful to anyone working to boostrap a new web company.

The curated page contains a ton of valuable links ranging from where to get help to find your next domain name to product launch tools, startup advice, financing, legal stuff, wireframing and prototyping services and marketing tools.

"How do you survive and thrive in this fiercely competitive economy? You need a whole new entrepreneurial mindset and skill set. Drawing on the best of Silicon Valley, The Start-Up of You helps you accelerate your career and take control of your future–no matter your profession."

Social Curation is not limited to marketing, brands and "the web". Many of the principles described here can equally be applied to enterprise (workplace) communities by the Community Manager (or Facilitator). The role is all about helping the community achieve it's goals...by aggregating, organizing and sharing content created by the community, i.e. "Social Curation"!

This is definitely a major role for a community manager which is why I love learning about these two topics: community management and curation. They are inseparable. I think this is what makes the difference between a community that has members and a community that has ACTIVE members, which, of course, is the POINT! Enjoy!

FotoSketcher is a 100% free program for Windows which converts your digital photos into art automatically and in just a few mouse clicks. Over 20 different styles are available from pencil sketches to watercolor or oil paintings, pen & ink drawings and cartoons.

Robin Good: The Lean LaunchPad is a free online course taught by Steve Blank and based on the course by the same name that he teaches at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, Caltech and for the National Science Foundation.

In his words: "It is the foundation every entrepreneur should have to build a successful startup."

"Steve Blank is a retired serial entrepreneur-turned-educator who is changing how startups are built and how entrepreneurship is being taught. He created the Customer Development methodology that launched the lean startup movement, and wrote about the process in his first book, The Four Steps to the Epiphany. His second book, The Startup Owner's Manual, is a step-by-step guide to building a successful company."

The course expected average completion time is estimated in two to four weeks.

Curating and selecting apps, with the goal of helping users find the best solutions for their needs is a business that pays.

AppGratis an app focusing on this very need and founded by French entrepreneur Simon Dawlat as he was still a student, has discovered that not only there is a large need for finding the most appropriate app for carrying out specific tasks, but there are also a few ways to make this effort pay back itself nicely.

"Apple hails the 775,000 apps on its App Store, but a sea of choice can end up being a glut for end users who struggle to choose the mobile service they really need.

In the last few years, AppGratis (pronounced ‘gra-tese’) has stepped in to solve the problem.

The free “app discovery” service offers users one free app a day from the App Store, and now has 10 million users, of which 3 million use the app everyday. It also makes more than $1 million a month in sales by taking a cut from in-app purchases after its promotions — something of a testament to the freemium model and AppGratis’ negotiating tactics."

How it all started as recounted from the founder: "We are helping developers get distribution in the App Store and helping users discover new apps. We started as a newsletter which had daily deals and daily picks, and from there we became an app in 2010."

"We have 30 people in Paris. Half the team is people who will do the dirty job of finding the apps and picking up the gems."

How do they make money?

"We make money by partnering with a big brand. So if you think about the Nike Plus fitness program, we’re going to help bring this app and offer a two-month free subscription to the service. We will be working with guys like Disney who want to push new games to complement a new movie release. [This is AppGratis' main revenue source, charged on a cost-per-install basis.]

And for smaller developers we do revenue shares. With app developers who monetize their app directly we’re able to share the extra revenue we bring them by bringing an extra million users to their user base."

Must read for curators and entrpreneurs alike. Lots to be learned from this. 8/10

It could turn out to be a great tool for entrepreneurs looking to launch a new business/product. Gauging the market size and customer segments can be a daunting task and at the beginning most people start with what can be best described as a set of hypotheses about who their target customers are and what's the best product - market fit. Google Surveys, coupled with the good old "get out of the building and talk to people" method is a great way to gather thsi information.

Gone are the days when you would have to pay so much to buy a software to create videos. With web 2.0 tools you can get your videos up and viral within minutes and right from your browser without having to install any software and in most of the times for free.

Learning to learn remains a powerful and necessary skill in every field of activity. In addition to this skill, imagine that your learning can be accelerated, your mind challenged and your efficiency improved.

Create presentations:

One of the most important roles of presentations is for you to practice your creativity and understanding on a specific topic or subject. When you are able to present your own perspective on a specific matter, your learning experience becomes extremely powerful. You become the owner of that information, gaining ownership over the delivered content. As you get yourself ready to make your knowledge known remember to:...

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.